Sony Reels from Multiple Hacker Attacks

Read Case: Sony Reels from Multiple Hacker Attacks on page 252 in the text and answer the questions below. APA formatting guidelines require a title page, abstract page, and reference page in addition to the body of the paper.

Do some research on the Sony PSN debacle. What are the new cost estimates for the incident? How many customers have left Sony because of the incident? Have there been any reports of fraudulent use of identities obtained from the hack? Has Sony’s PlayStation Network been hacked again?

Gaming and virtual services on the Internet, like Sony’s PSN, World of Warcraft, and Second Life, boast millions of users. For each user, the service must store credit card information and personally identifiable information. What must these organizations do to protect the private information of their customers? Is it even reasonable to assume that any organization can have protection measures in place to stop the world’s best hackers?

If an extremely intelligent hacker is caught by a law enforcement agency, should that hacker be prosecuted and sent to jail? Is there perhaps a way that hacker might be “turned” for the good of the digital world? What would that be?

According to each and every survey taken of businesses regarding data breaches, each one states that many businesses are reluctant to publicly announce a data breach. Further, most businesses will downplay the significance of the breach. Why do organizations do this? What is there to gain by not operating in a transparent fashion? Is this an ethical issue, a legal issue, or both?

What’s your personal identity theft story? Has someone used your credit card fraudulently? How many phishing e-mails have you received in the last year? How often do you check your credit report?